Local Food & Food Democracy:
Articles and News

• Local Food fact sheets now available in Spanish - Alimentarios locales: Hojas de información (August 2007)
  
  
• Arkansas, California: State Boards Ban Planting of Genetically Modified Rice (May 2007)
  
  
• US House may prevent states from protecting food supply (May 2007)
  
  
• Missouri: Missouri Legislature Kills the CAFO Bill (May 2007)
  
  
• Legislation Tracker follows state food bills (May 2007)
  
  
• Missouri: Missouri legislature to study CAFOs and local control (April 2007)
  
  
• States introduce bills to support local food systems (April 2007)
  
  
• California: Genetic engineering bill held over in California Assembly (April 2007)
  
  
• Local choice protects farms and food (April 2007)
  
  
• States introduce numerous bills to regulate genetically modified foods (March 2007)
  
  
• New Mexico: Santa Fe County passes Seed Sovereignty resolution. (January, 2007)
  
  
• California: Assemblyman Huffman introduces bill to protect California farmers, consumers, and the food supply from the risks posed by genetically modified crops (March 2007)
  
  
• Tracker expands to include bills supportive of local food systems and/or control (February 2007)
  
  
• Missouri: Blunt: state, not local government should decide rules for farms (January 2007)
  
  
• Seed & plant preemption bills fail in 2006 legislatures (December 2006) (printer friendly version) 28K
  
  
• Food as Commodity or Food for Community? How should we relate to our food? Each of us can be a meaningful part of restoring and strengthening our local food systems through the many roles we play.
  - A series of fact sheets on Local Food.
  
  
• California: Attempt to strip local authority over seeds and plants fails in California legislature - Environmental Commons (September 2006) (printer friendly version) 20K
  
  
• California: Bill would prevent new bans by counties on modified crops - San Francisco Chronicle (July 2006)
  
  
• Congressional Preemption of State Laws and Regulations - United States House of Representatives, Committee on Government Reform - Minority Staff (June 2006)
  
  
• California: Bill would prevent counties from regulating GMOs - Capital Press (July 2006)
  
  
• California: Limit on genetic farming in Santa Cruz - San Francisco Chronicle (June 2006)
  Santa Cruz County eyes ban on genetically engineered crops - Santa Cruz Sentinel (June 2006)
  
  
• A New World Order for crop seeds
  "One large chemical company now has patents on more than 11,000 different seeds..." - Hillsboro, Ohio Times-Gazette (May 2006)
  
  
• Update on "Seed Preemption" Bills Being Introduced to Strip Local Control of Our Food Supply - (March 2006) (printer friendly version) 20K
  
  
• California: SB 1056 amended to strip local authority over seeds, plants and food supply. (2006)
  
  
• California: Op-ed from Environmental Commons and Californians for GE-Free Agriculture published in the San Francisco Chronicle (2005)
  
  
• Consigning Citizens to Mere Spectators: How Preemptive Seed Legislation is Destroying Democracy. Published in Farm Policy Network News & Gene Watch Magazine, Britt Bailey writes about the latest industry move to prevent local communities from making decisions regarding seeds. (2005)
  
  
• National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) Alerted to Statewide Seed Preemption Laws. NCEL is alerted to American Legislative Exchange Council's role in state legislation prohibiting local governments from regulating genetically modified organisms (GMO), particularly seeds, in their county or city. (2005)
  
  
• California Native Plant Society Chapter Formally Opposes Preemptive Seed Legislation. (2005)
  
  
• California: Biotech battle stirs up California wine country "...Britt Bailey, director of Environmental Commons... argued that the industry was waging a stealth campaign to take control away from local governments." - St. Louis Post-Dispatch (2005)
  
  
• California: Point Arena becomes second city to restrict growing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). See:
  - Press Release (2005)
  - Read Ordinance
  
  
• Industry aims to strip local control of food supply. See:
  - Press Release (2005)
  - Backgrounder
  
  
• California: Mendocino County becomes the first county in the United States to ban the growing of genetically modified crops and animals. (2004)